Southampton star Carlos Alcaraz has had a difficult time since moving on loan to Juventus during the winter transfer window, leaving the Bianconeri uncertain about making the deal permanent, according to reports.
The midfielder moved to the St. Mary’s Stadium back in January 2023 for a fee reported to be in the region of £12 million, although his former side Racing Club revealed that they had a 15% sell-on clause invested in the deal.
Southampton have their breakthrough as Carlos Alcaraz puts them ahead!! 💪 pic.twitter.com/AcAJpibvR0
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) March 4, 2023
While the Saints failed to stay in the Premier League, Alcaraz was a bright spark during a rather gloomy time for the club. However, once Russell Martin took the reins at the beginning of the season, the young Argentine was no longer one of the first names on the teamsheet, starting merely 13 of a possible 27 matches under the young manager.
There was interest in Alcaraz from clubs abroad, including RB Salzburg and Portuguese champions Benfica, while talkSPORT reported intrigue from Newcastle United, who were in the Champions League at the time.
Ultimately, Alcaraz did leave Southampton for a black-and-white strip when he signed for Juventus on the final day of January. It was revealed that the Italian giants have an option to buy the playmaker for £40 million at the end of the campaign.
However, the 21-year-old has had a trying time in Turin, making merely four appearances in total for the Italian giants, accumulating just 175 minutes of action on the pitch while also recently sustaining a long-term hamstring injury which could keep him out of action for another few weeks.
Now, as per the latest reports in Italy, Juventus are set to be cautious about exercising their right to buy Alcaraz in the summer. According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, via Sport Witness, the Bianconeri will instead look to sign the Argentine on a loan deal next season while attempting to negotiate a more affordable option-to-buy clause.
Alcaraz’s market value currently sits at £12.8 million, as per Transfermarkt, which is three times more than the two clubs agreed would be his fee at the end of the season.
Writer’s View
This deal would only really make logical sense if Southampton were to fail to earn promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking. In that situation, the Saints may be looking to make money to compensate for their parachute payments being reduced and offloading Alcaraz is a good way of doing this.
However, if Martin does manage to guide Southampton back to the promised land, the club won’t be in dire need of selling expensive assets and may even be willing to give him another go in the team given how well he did in the top-flight last season.
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